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Rachman Tenements

Peter Rachman, Mandy’s lover, escaped any scandal. He was overweight, smoked, drank and womanised and died at the age of 43 before the scandal broke.

Mandy and Christine

In life he had been a jovial wealthy businessman and nightclub entrepreneur who enjoyed the good things in life, like several Rolls Royces. He might have anticipated the philosophy of Northern Irish soccer player George Best who before dying at the age of 59 famously said, referencing WC Fields: “I spent a lot of money of booze, birds, and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.”

As a result of the scandal a spotlight was focussed on the way Rachman had become so wealthy, so quickly. It transpired that he had perfected means of getting rid of sitting tenants in larger inner city dwellings that he then split into tiny rooms and let them at exorbitant rent to migrants, who couldn't get accommodation elsewhere due to racial prejudice. He was actually applauded by some for providing accommodation to the needy. Some London hotels seem to follow the same principles even today.

In addition to slum tenements he owned nightclubs and less openly, brothels.

So he never learned that posthumously he became famous. His name has entered the English language as a noun/adjective to describe exploitative slum landlords.

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Travel

Berlin

I'm a bit daunted writing about Berlin.

Somehow I'm happy to put down a couple of paragraphs about many other cities and towns I've visited but there are some that seem too complicated for a quick 'off the cuff' summary. Sydney of course, my present home town, and past home towns like New York and London. I know just too much about them for a glib first impression.

Although I've never lived there I've visited Berlin on several occasions for periods of up to a couple of weeks. I also have family there and have been introduced to their circle of friends.

So I decided that I can't really sum Berlin up, any more that I can sum up London or New York, so instead I should pick some aspects of uniqueness to highlight.

Fiction, Recollections & News

Recollections of 1963

A Pivotal Year

It appears that the latest offering from Andrew Lloyd Webber: Stephen Ward, the Musical, has crashed and burned after four months in London.

On hearing this I was reminded of 1963, the year I completed High School and matriculated to University; the year Bob Dylan became big; and Beatle Mania began.

The year had started with a mystery the Bogle-Chandler deaths in Lane Cove National Park in Sydney that confounded Australia. Then came Buddhist immolations and a CIA supported coup and regime change in South Vietnam that was the beginning of the end for the US effort.

Suddenly the Great Train Robbery in Britain was headline news there and in Australia. One of the ringleaders, Ronnie Biggs was subsequently found in Australia but stayed one step of the authorities for many years.

The 'Space Race' was underway with the USSR holding their lead by putting the first female Cosmonaut into obit. The US was riven with inter-racial hostility and rioting. But the first nuclear test ban treaties were signed and Vatican 2 made early progress, the reforming Pope John 23 unfortunately dying mid year.

Towards year's end, on the 22nd of November, came the Kennedy assassination, the same day the terminally ill Aldus Huxley elected to put an end to it.